KMCA’s strong business practice ensures budgets are adhered to, documentation is accurate,
and schedules and deadline met. Through this business practice “design is transformed into
memorable reality.”

The Latest News About Our Hotel Interior Design Firm

“It is rewarding to be recognized for the work we do. It’s the love of what we do, however, that drives us.”-Kathy Moran-Clarson, RID

Stylish Changes Appeal to Contemporary Business Travelers Seeking Unconventional Experiences
Tampa, FL – (Dec. 21, 2015) The Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel recently revealed a new look and a new lifestyle-driven design that has dramatically transformed the 293-room hotel. The transformation is part of Renaissance Hotels’ global “Wanderlust” design initiative which reflects the brand’s contemporary transformation to appeal to the next Gen entrepreneurial traveler who has a “work hard – play hard” mindset and who seeks adventures with every business trip.

The estimated $10 million renovation that began more than a year ago significantly updated the hotel lobby, guestrooms, outdoor patios, the private dining room that adjoins Pelagia Trattoria and other public spaces.

The stylish changes also help to set the AAA Four Diamond-rated hotel apart from the more standardized look of traditional lifestyle hotels, making it more distinctive and distinguished.

“The new look does more than simply change the color scheme and interior of the hotel. It contributes to creating a more sophisticated experience for our guests. There is now a new attitude, a new energy and a new excitement throughout the hotel,” said Jim Bartholomay, general manager of the Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel. “Guests will be inspired to explore the neighborhood and discover the unexpected at every turn.”

The original colors and Mediterranean-influenced interior decor formerly found throughout the hotel have been replaced by a sophisticated and soothing color palette featuring shades of blue and grey. The more mainstream furnishings that greeted hotel guests for more than 10 years have given way to new contemporary communal seating areas where guests can enjoy specialty cocktails and Pelagia Trattoria’s acclaimed cuisine, either on the outdoor patio or in the lobby library.

Helping to define and refine the hotel’s new look “in a way that would be unexpected” was KMCA Design, a full-service hospitality design firm specializing in the interior design of upscale hotels.

“We created a recognizable design with a shoreline sophistication. The stylish design sparks the guests’ curiosity with a mixture of contemporary and traditional details. Dive into the lobby with the oversized area rug emulating a water droplet captured in time or be swept away by the whimsical winds in the colorful kinetic artwork at the reception desk,” said a KMC&A Design spokesperson. “Each space has its own identity as seen in the living room-like lobby or the library/lounge that can be a welcoming retreat for one or a gathering spot for many.

Guestrooms were inspired by the nautical nature of the region. “The carpet acts as the ocean waves splashing over the sand leaving ripples in the tile entrance. Color and textures are derived from the setting sun across the waters of Tampa Bay that are abundant with indigenous sea life. The guest is transported to a serene moment in time before discovering the spirit of Tampa.”

The Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel recently revealed a new look after $10 million in renovations that took nearly a year to complete.

The 293-room hotel, which is connected to the International Plaza shopping mall in Tampa, updated the hotel lobby, guest rooms, outdoor patios and the private dining room at the hotel’s in-house restaurant, Pelagia Trattoria.

“The new look does more than simply change the color scheme and interior of the hotel. It contributes to creating a more sophisticated experience for our guests. There is now a new attitude, a new energy and a new excitement throughout the hotel,” said Jim Bartholomay, general manager of the Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel, in a news release.

Renovations included a new interior paint color scheme, updated decor and furnishings, and new communal seating areas where guests can order Pelagia Trattoria’s cuisine and cocktails. Guest rooms were renovated to fit the “nautical nature of the region,” a news release said.

The Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel hired KMCA Design, a Jacksonville Beach-based firm specializing in the interior design of upscale hotels, to come up with the new design.

One of Us: Kathy Moran-Clarson

Posted Thursday, December 22, 2016, The Ponte Vedra Recorder

A fateful meeting at an airport baggage claim changed the course of Kathy Moran-Clarson’s life, bringing the interior designer to the First Coast. The president of KMC&A Design is enjoying life at the beach with her husband, Ric Clarson.

What services does KMC&A design provide to its clients?
KMCA is a full-service hospitality design firm with offices in South Jacksonville Beach. We specialize in the interior design of four and five-star hotels and resorts. KMCA’s approach is every property has its own unique setting and story. Our job is to capture its past and enlighten its future by creating beautifully designed interiors that reflect its locale and often historical surroundings. Through design, we enhance the guest experience, inspire exploration and help drive repeat business and positive word-of-mouth referrals.

How did you come to specialize in hospitality design?
After completing my degree in interior design, I began my career as an associate designer with a large design firm in Dallas that had multiple offices across the country. My initial projects concentrated on the Hyatt Hotel brands. I created environments aimed at an attentive and sophisticated traveler that functioned properly for guests and maintenance staffs, and most importantly, for the owner’s bottom line. During that career phase, I completed 11 Hyatt hotel renovations. Now, two decades later, those principles are still what drives KMCA: creating inspiring, world-class design while maintaining strong business and financial practices.

How many hotel interior design projects have you completed?
We’ve completed more than 50 hotels, including a mix of renovations and new builds. In the Northeast Florida area, KMCA is currently designing the new Renaissance San Marco in St. Augustine, a new luxury seaside boutique hotel in Fernandina Beach, and the renovation of the Sawgrass Marriott great room and lobby. We’re in the running for a new Daytona Beach project as well. We’re also working in state on hotels in Orlando, Tampa, Coral Gables and Boca Raton, and out-of-state with two projects in Rochester, New York, and one in Norfolk, Virginia. I’ve also done design work for hotels including Hilton Times Square in New York City; Hilton Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California; the Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona; and the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco.

Describe the process of designing hotel interiors. What do you enjoy most about that process?
I love all phases of design. Transforming a vision into an impactful and memorable reality is exhilarating. Our process starts with listening to our client and understanding their vision for the hotel. We conduct extensive research regarding the area, which spawns ideas and inspiration from our findings to create interiors that showcase the region, the history, the culture and the lifestyle. This is emulated in color schemes, indigenous materials, local art and meaningful artifacts. For a design to besuccessful, a sequence of design phases must be followed to ensure we stay within budget, documentation is accurate, and schedules and deadlines are met.

Different hotels have different “personalities.” How do you reflect that personality through interior design while remaining consistent with the hotel’s brand?
We have a saying at KMCA: “On Time, On Budget, On Brand.” That is our ultimate goal. It is a balancing act, however, to meet the demands of both ownership and the respective hotel brand. In the past, hotel brands requested designers to design for a consistent scheme, color or style. They wanted guests to immediately recognize a hotel by its interior, with design consistency across the hotel brand. You see this in limited service hotels like Hampton Inn or Courtyard Marriott, and even in upscale properties.

But times and tastes have changed. Hotel guests are demanding more from their experiences, particularly Gen X and Millennial travelers. Why not stay at a uniquely designed hotel with seamless technology at your fingertips, and also have a “sense of place” while traveling for work or pleasure? Our job as designers is to be fluent with all brand standards but also recognize what’s in vogue with cultural trends and styles, and design the hotels to reflect its locale. More and more upscale brands now look for diversity in design and ties to the local area – which KMCA delivers – versus brand consistency.

Which presents a greater challenge – designing a new hotel or redesigning an existing one?
Both require the same discipline in regards to business strategies and design phases, so our focus remains on delivering a high-end design with exceptional quality and durable performance. What sets them apart is the blank canvas a new hotel project provides, which opens up endless opportunities to make your own mark in interior design. It sparks a different mindset in creativity when there are no existing conditions to maneuver around. Renovations, however, allow KMCA to take something that is typically worn and dated to a new level of luster, style and opulence. Both are challenging in their own way, and require different approaches, but our “On Time, On Budget, On Brand” goal is the same.

What brought you to the First Coast?
My wonderful husband, who is a second-generation native of Jacksonville. Divine intervention brought us together a little over four years ago. We met in the Palm Springs, California airport at baggage claim, though neither of us checked a bag. God at work! I’m originally from Pennsylvania, and after spending summers in college working at the Jersey Shore, living the beach life became a dream. After 30 years in Dallas and raising two beautiful children and honing my skills as an interior designer, fate gave me the opportunity to move to the First Coast, remarry, start my own design firm, live close to the ocean, and live that beach life. Ironically, in many ways I feel like I’m back at home.

How do you enjoy spending your free time?
I can’t get enough of time on the beach. I love walking, running, cycling and we have two paddle boards. I get to a weekly yoga class or two, but this area is just incredible for the outdoors. My husband and I enjoy exploring = the First Coast, and there is no shortage of cool and fun things to do. We have a townhome in Dallas we enjoy going back to, but the sun- and moonrises out of the Atlantic Ocean are hard to beat.

Work is slated to begin in mid-November on a $16 million renovation project at the Hyatt Regency Hotel downtown. Plans include updated guest rooms, a glass elevator at the entrance, a rooftop garden above the fourth floor and more dining options, including a Starbucks Corp. coffee shop and soon-to-be-announced fine dining restaurant. Local developers Morgan Management LLC and Christa Cos., through their company MC Management of Rochester LLC, bought the hotel on East Main Street in February for $16 million from Blackstone Group LP, a private-equity firm. Officials of the two firms have said plans for renovating the hotel will complement current redevelopment underway in that part of the city.

Built in 1992, the 274,000-square-foot hotel has 25 stories. It has more than 20,000 square feet of flexible events space, as well as a gym, heated indoor pool and whirlpool. The building is connected via a skyway to the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center.

“This is the perfect time for the Hyatt to once again be the beacon of hospitality in the central downtown district,” General Manager Jay Rettberg said. Christa and Morgan also own the Strathallan, a Doubletree by Hilton Hotel on East Avenue, which they purchased in 2011. Since then, the two firms have pumped millions of dollars into renovation efforts there, including an enclosed rooftop event space and lounge. Christa CEO David Christa said improvements at the Strathallan have benefited the hotel and he expects the same at the Hyatt. “When guests, clients and customers see you have put a lot into a property, they patronize it,” Christa said.

The Hyatt project, which includes redesign of both the interior and exterior, will be done in phases and is expected to be completed next summer, Christa said. The hotel will remain open during the improvements, he added. Hanlon Architects P.C. in Rochester designed the public spaces, while Florida-based KMC&A Design worked on the guest room improvements.

The room designs, a minimalist loft-like style, reflect the sense of urban renewal in Rochester. The wood features and neutral color scheme of the rooms in enhanced with technology, including 55-inch flat screen televisions, a touch-screen mirror in the bathroom with a digital clock, and ample outlets and connections for electronic devices. “The hotel is geared toward corporate travel and also draws guests attending conventions,” said Travania Clark, director of sales.

She expects an increase in the number of guests at the hotel because of developments downtown that are expected to draw high-technology firms as well as the potential for more conventions. Donald Jeffries, president and CEO of Visit Rochester, said the Hyatt improvements should have a major impact on downtown.

“It’s like having a brand new hotel downtown,” said Jeffries, adding that the opening of the nearby Hilton Garden Inn created a spike in downtown activity. The soon-to-be-announced high-end restaurant will be a draw, as well. “It not only helps us, it can seal the conventions and meetings,” he said of the renovations. In addition to Starbucks, expected to open in late winter, and the fine-dining restaurant, the hotel will feature lighter fare options. The reworked public space will include moving the registration area so it is more easily accessible for guests, adding a glass elevator at the front of the property and placing large windows in the lobby overlooking Main Street.

“One of our goals is to embrace the neighborhood,” said Todd Plouffe, MC Management’s director of development.

Online Exclusive! Enchantment Resort – Sedona, Arizona

Long hailed as a restorative Sedona getaway, Enchantment Resort, part of the Enchantment Group portfolio, now authentically reflects its soothing desert palette thanks to an $11 million renovation of all 218 guestrooms. Following a $4 million expansion of the resort’s onsite Meeting Village, Dallas-based Flick Mars was brought in to oversee this crucial second design phase.

“This property is all about location and the beauty of Boynton Canyon; they truly complement one another,” explains architect and partner Matt Mars. “There’s a fantastic approach out here, but after seeing the red rocks outside, it was a major disconnect inside. It sounds cliché to say we took inspiration from the surroundings, but here they are truly amazing to pull from.”

The deluge of rocks, bearing striking red hues and elegant strata, set the stage for everything from casegood pieces to millwork for the interiors. “We gave the rooms more of a contemporary tailored edge, a minimalist design,” says Mars, who singles out senior designer Kathy Moran for taking the lead on the project. “The challenge was how do we achieve the richness of this region with clean lines to satisfy owner’s personal tastes?”

One way was by swapping out old terracotta floors for sustainable bamboo ones, and updating bathrooms to feature five-fixture baths and exotic Pakistani onyx vanity tops. Perhaps the most striking element of the design is Flick Mars’ referencing of the local Native American community. “We didn’t want to go Southwest; this is more about Native American culture and the Yavapai nation influence,” Mars notes. And so, door panels and living room rugs call to mind traditional basket weaving, fireplaces boast sculptures made by the ancient process of weaving boiled tule (a long grass), and two-feather paintings, symbolizing the coming together of the Yavapai and Apache tribes, adorn bedrooms.